A Frenzy of Pokémon Fans at Sports Direct
A group of enthusiastic Pokémon fans created a chaotic scene outside Sports Direct’s flagship store on Oxford Street in central London. The crowd forced open the shutters of the store, eager to purchase new trading cards. Footage shared on social media captured the moment as a group of young people pushed against the shutter guarding the entrance, causing it to bend inward. Staff opened the shutters at around 9:30 am—half an hour before the official opening time.
The mob rushed through the entrance and made their way to the back of the store, heading towards the gaming outlet GAME. As they moved across the shop floor, shoes and clothes were scattered across the ground. One particularly dedicated fan was seen sprinting to the back of the store at full speed, despite walking on crutches.
Signage at the entrance to the store was damaged by the crowd, with the letter ‘A’ knocked off a GAME sign next to the shutter. Police were observed standing outside the store as fans ducked under the partially open shutters, which remained about a meter from the ground.
Shoes were scattered across the floor among clothes that had been knocked from their hangers during the rush. A staff member could be heard shouting at the crowd, but no injuries were reported. It is also understood that no police calls were made regarding the disturbance.
The chaos attracted attention from non-Pokémon fans as well. One person, commenting on a video posted on X, said: “This is wild. I ain’t even trying to get no Pokémon.” The frenzied behavior was triggered by the restock of a line of Pokémon trading cards called Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes.
A complete set of these cards, featuring characters like Gengar and Pikachu, can be worth up to £4,500, making them highly sought after by collectors. According to reports, the Oxford Street stock of the set sold out within just 20 minutes. Sports Direct has not commented on the incident.
Restocks of the limited run of trading cards were released today in a few Sports Direct stores following a tipster sharing the news on social media. Demand for the cards is so high that customers are often restricted from buying more than one set each.
Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary this year and is now the world’s highest-grossing media franchise. It spans a long-running series of video games, trading cards, and animated cartoons and movies.
The trading card game, known among fans as Pokémon TCG, continues to grow in popularity since its launch in the 1990s. It is collected by both children and adults. The game is played between two participants who battle each other using a 60-card deck. Each card features a Pokémon character with unique abilities and personalities.
Collectors trade more than 18,000 unique cards in English and over 20,000 in Japanese. The industry was valued at $7.8 billion (£5.8 billion) last year, according to a report by Research and Markets. The cards are now considered a valuable investment, often referred to as “more valuable than gold” due to their rising popularity.
This trend comes as more than £30,000 worth of Pokémon cards were stolen from a small business in Winton, Bournemouth, last week. Live selling platforms such as Whatnot have reported a 282% surge in sales in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Famous American influencer Logan Paul once bought a Pokémon card known as PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator for $5.3 million (£4 million) in 2021, setting a Guinness World Record for the most expensive private sale of a Pokémon card at the time. The YouTuber and wrestler later sold the card, considered one of the best-preserved examples of a rare card, for $16.5 million (£12.1 million) this year, according to auction firm Goldin.
